Teleportation, an Achievement Unlocked

Ever since the modern world experienced the successes and fruits of technological advancements, the world became even more demanding of certain possibilities that may be too much for the imagination to handle. I mean, who would not want to make life even much easier, simpler, and fun!

When you wanted to save a file for later use, download capabilities of various gadgets made it possible. When you needed to know the answers of your ever-curious questions, Google became your best friend. When you cannot perform complex formulas and equations, calculators made your Math life easier. When you needed to share a hard copy file online, scanners did the work for you. When you wanted to convey an exact information, the copy-paste feature did all the trick for you. When you needed to talk loudly to a large crowd, microphones or megaphones saved you from damaging your throat. When you wanted to re-watch a few moments of your favorite video, the rewind button came so handy. When you needed to access internet in the middle of a street, wireless internet connections saved you from loneliness.

And here we are, continuously advancing further into the 21st century, and yes, people are getting more demanding of what technology can offer. Ever thought about what could be the next biggest thing in science and technology breakthroughs? One word, teleportation. You heard it right! You must be thinking that teleportation is impossible. Teleportation has been numerously used in movies and fiction materials, feeding the fantasies of children and adults alike worldwide. Teleportation occurrences in movies became so mainstream and famous that they may appear simple. I mean, if we are talking about movies that fall under the genre of science fiction or fantasy, teleportation is not a new thing. While this happens in movies, it is greatly challenged by people to happen in real life, but not with science! Living in an era like now and with all the technological advancements that were once thought to be impossible, is teleportation really implausible? First, it is essential to define what the word, teleportation, means. Teleportation may refer to three scenarios. First, the relocation of a certain object to another place. Second, teleportation may mean that an object is scanned where its information is being transferred someplace else to build a new object from different materials. We are talking about the third type here. Now, the third one is quite complex as it involves the beauty of Quantum Physics and how the world, in science terms, basically works. However, scientists and physicists find this fascinating and brilliant. What is sure at this point, though, is that teleportation is possible and has been conducted by scientists of physicists through experiments all over the world with majority of them as successful.

So, through a specialized field in Science which is Quantum Physics, Quantum teleportation seems to be accessible by humans. Quantum teleportation is a process where quantum information can be transferred from one place to another with the aid of classical communication and quantum entanglement. This is not what you see in movies or what you read in books. Quantum entanglement refers to the state shared by two separate particles where what happens to one particle, happens to the other particle. And scientists have made ways of creating entangled particles by firing laser through a crystal. We are not talking about a form of transport, though. This teleportation is a form of communication. Through quantum entanglement, physicists could effectively copy the quantum state of a particle and paste it to another particle. The second particle, then, would exhibit as an identical copy of the first particle. And since there is a possibility to perfectly copy the first particle, qubits can be transmitted which are used in quantum computation. There is a created notion that the first particle is being transported or cloned. What is weird is that once the first particle’s state is measured, the second particle somehow knows what state should it be in. This reality occurs even when the particles are separated by a great distance. Looks like Einstein was right in labeling this phenomenon as a “spooky action at a distance.”

Still skeptical about teleportation? Well, a group of Chinese scientists just sent a load of information from Tibet to a satellite which is orbiting the Earth approximately at 870 miles or 1,400 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. This became the farthest record where quantum teleportation have occurred.

Okay, this may be too much to digest, so, let us simplify how quantum teleportation may happen. For example, identical twins in real life, even though may share the same physical characteristics, would vary in their intrinsic characteristics. Imagine having yourself an identical twin, being identical in all ways: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Whatever your twin thinks and feels is what you may also think and feel. Let us assume that you are both the same in all aspects at the same time. When your twin feels a stomach ache, you would also have a stomach ache. If your twin gets an A+ in his or her favorite subject, you would also get the same grade. If you decide to eat steak for dinner, your twin would also eat steak for dinner. Both of you may think, feel, and do the same things when you are together, but so is the scenario even if you are continents apart. And whatever affects your twin would also affect you. In this way, it seems like you are thinking, feeling, and doing the same thing but in a different location.

It is important to note that what was successfully teleported for countless times were qubits and not molecules or larger states of matter. Hence, up until now, there is no certainty if humans could be really transported. But hey, with brilliant minds and the progress of technology, who knows, you and your grandchildren will be teleporting your way going to the Moon in the few years to come! With the countless possibilities that this great discovery can bring, the world better prepare. And hey, guess what, the world checks another goal successes in its list. Teleportation through a technological feat, achievement unlocked!